Following the Bouncing Christ?

When I started this blog one of my driving forces (other than Lionel Woods) was that I hated to see so many people, including myself and many around me, struggle with the assurance of their salvation. I hated the fact that no matter which soteriological system one held, no one could really guarantee that if you “just did what I believe the bible says you should do”, or “just didn’t do what I believe the bible says you shouldn’t do” or ” just believed what I believe the bible says you should believe in order to be saved”, then you would be saved and you would know it. (I mean, let’s be honest: A Calvinist cannot be sure, no matter what he/she believes or practices that he/she is one of the “elect”. And an Arminian cannot be sure, no matter which prayer he/she has prayed or how “holy” he/she lives, that he/she hasn’t backslid or lost their salvation) Some preach “law/works based” salvation. Some preach “grace/faith based” salvation. Some preach a mixture of both. Some while claiming to preach one, sound as if they are preaching the other. And vice versa.

There was and still is so much contradiction in the mouths of those who claim to speak for God, even within the agreeing promoters of those soteriological systems, that it is no wonder that people are confused. For instance, listen to any “Grace” preacher long enough (many I have wrote posts about on this blog) and you will hear them say in one breath, “Doing church work does not mean that you are saved.”, only to say in another breath, “If you were saved, you would be doing church work.”. Huh?! You see, whether or not they want to admit it, that person has just told you that though many things you do or don’t do can count against you but nothing that you do or don’t do really counts for you. So if you said the sinner’s prayer or a prayer of repentance, so what?! If you love people like you would like to be loved, so what?! If you read the bible daily and try to do what you understand it to say, so what?! But if you don’t do any of the following, then you my friend are lost! Or at least, some will say….

We’ve all seen the image above in different cartoons. The concept is simple. A ball bounces over each word in tune to a song and you follow that bouncing ball and sing along. If you’re like me, you’re impatient with the bouncing ball and you read ahead. And sometimes when you do that, you lose the tune of the song, especially if you don’t know the song. So what does any of this have to do with Christ you ask?

Well, for the believer, Christ is the bouncing ball and the words to the song are everything else, including the expressions about Christ, His will for your life, etc., by those who claim to speak on His behalf. These words vary greatly depending on which particular “Christian” you are listening to at the time, as I have stated above. For more proof, google the phrase “the essentials of the faith” and you’ll immediately see that though there is some agreement, there is also great disagreement. Or better yet, google “Christian Denominations”. Or watch this video (One disclaimer: I do not agree with her entirely. But I do want to be intellectually honest about the real existence of the problem that she is trying to express.) to get a sense of what the Christian landscape projects to the world:

My point is simple. Know God/Christ for yourself. Depend on noone to introduce you to Him. We are all limited, as human beings, in our ability to express God, what He desires of us and what He offers us. Some will give you just scripture, as they understand it. Some will give you their experiences. Some will give you what I like to call, “Christian cliche’s” or traditions. Some will give you a combination of all three. Bottom line is that none of them can be fully depended upon to establish your faith. Please ma’am and please sir, if you desire to be saved, reach out to God/Christ for yourself. Pick up a bible and ask the Holy Spirit of God to guide you. Depend only on what He reveals to you as the assurance for your standing with Him.

You won’t regret it.

P. S. – Sorry if my rambling was confusing. If you wish to comment, please feel free. But I do ask that you avoid trying to start a debate with me. I will clarify anything that I agree with you may be confusing.

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First came across you guys a few years back. You lost me back then constantly focusing on Calvinism and all manner of ism’s and schism’s. I see you have resurfaced and still at the same thing. Might I suggest a line by line study of 1 John. John speaks about what he heard, seen and handled concerning the Word of Life. In chapter 5:13, he tells me why he has written about these things: … in order that you may know that you have eternal life. I think I’ll stick with John’s first hand account.

@G.S. Brooks, I think you may have this blog confused with some other. My focus here is not Calvinism or any other ism. You have to read my “About This Blog” article or the first paragraph of this particular post to get an idea of what this blog is about.

As far as I John is concerned, I’ve written a few articles on this blog about it. I believe that John makes several “I write this so that….” statements. For me it all points to his desire to comfort those who had their faith challenged by false teachers. He was writing to convince them that they had been given the true gospel and everything that they needed for their spiritual life. Good day to you.